If the harvest is plentiful, thank God for horses

team

When you start a project or task its easy to get motivated. New things are exciting and carry a sense of momentum. But we don’t just go and do new things… we do things that we believe in… we just find it easier to do the new ones!

So how do you keep plugging away at the project or task when it’s no longer new?

Part of the answer is to re-consider the motivation that made that task exciting in the first place. Ask yourself (or your team), “What were you excited about this project before you got started? What were you hoping it would do?”

The goal or purpose of the project shouldn’t have changed since then. And that means the motivation to reach that goal shouldn’t have changed either.

So dig into the love that sparked the task, and keep working to use that motivation to fuel the task.

Share this

Like this:

This may seem the wrong way around, and to some extent, it shouldn’t be this way. However, every time someone new joins a meeting, the purpose of the meeting changes slightly to accommodate their “needs”; whether felt needs or real needs.

Why? Because the people in the meeting are expecting to get something out of the meeting. Or they are expecting to contribute something to the meeting.

So, even though YOU might have a reason for calling your meeting, the people you call will bring their own expectations.

The point is, if having that person in the room is going to change the purpose of the meeting dramatically, better not to invite them in the first place. In the end, it’s your meeting.

Share this

Like this:

A silo is a big container that keeps things separate. And you don’t want your team to do that. The welcoming guy should really care about what the mission guy is doing, the mag guy should be anxious about what’s going on in the maturity team. When team members silo they stop caring about the big picture and focus on the small.
But, there is a point when you need to silo. If one of your team is not doing the job they’re meant to do – because they are so involved in another team’s thing, they need to silo again.
There comes a point when your team members just need to sit down and think about how they’re going to get their bit done brilliantly.
That’s the best thing they can do for the whole team.

Share this

Like this:

It doesn’t matter really. They are both concepts of the future. They’re both things to work towards. But some people need to hear it one way, and other people need to hear it the other way.

Goal: Encourage 100 people to invite their friends along to the Life evangelistic course.
Problem: Thousands of people are going to hell, only the gospel of Jesus can save them, and we’ve got 100 people at church.

Goal: Make Sunday meetings God-glorifying, challenging and encouraging.
Problem: We’ve only got one opportunity each week when we gather God’s people together… what should we do?

If you give your team goals, they’ll have a clearer idea what you want. If you give them problems, you might get better ideas.

Share this

Like this:

If you’re a leader of a ministry, an group, a church, whatever, your core activity is making decisions.
In the end, it was your decision to accept this post, it was your decision to get people on board with you, it was your decision that you’d all focus on X and not Y. You decided to take that person’s suggestion, and say no to that person’s suggestion.
You’re constantly re-stating the decisions you’ve already made. (If you think these are assumptions… You’re wrong).
If there’s a question your team can’t answer, you’re the one they turn to for a decision.

Share this

Like this:

(This is a series of reflections on Horstman’s Laws)
Sometimes the people of this world truly are better at dealing with their own kind than people in the kingdom (Lk 16). In the secular world, people know they need to be very careful with private or sensitive information. Though they do make mistakes, they are fully aware that other people will break confidences in terrible ways.
The trouble is that Christians seem to forget that other Christians still sin.
If you tell someone a little secret they’re not meant to tell anyone, you are burdening them with a load and a temptation. Why are you doing that? Why would you knowingly lead one of your fellow brothers or sisters into more temptation than they already feel?
If someone doesn’t need to know, then don’t tell them. Don’t tempt them with another sin!
But there is a flip side… If the information relates to a project or to the team. In those situations, you should be open and share it. Let others know… If you tell me something that’s going to have an effect on my team, I’m not going to keep it secret. I’m going to tell my team.
Because you don’t keep secrets from your team. Your team is the people you share your secrets with.

Share this

Like this:

If you’ve got staff who are “church members” first, the next step is not to offer them a job. The next step is to offer them a spot on the staff team.
Again this is an important distinction. Team members do what’s best for the team and the church.
So if you’re a front row forward, and you get caught with the ball on the wing, you don’t say, “uh, I’m not paid the sprint, I’m just a forward.” No! You sprint your chubby little legs off and do the best you can for the good of the team. If your a striker and they need you in defence you don’t moan about it, you get in there and do your job – serve the team.
That’s the distinction right there. What do the members of your staff team see as their job? If their first thought is some role or task… they might not have understood this. If they say “I serve the church and the staff team by…” that’s more what you’d want to hear.
You want a staff team who are all happy to do jobs their not suited to because that’s what the church needs.
That’s team work.
Join the team, not the job.